Associate Justice James H. Coleman Jr.

Justice Coleman was the first African-American to serve on the Supreme Court. He was nominated by Gov. Christine Todd Whitman on Oct. 3, 1994, and sworn by Chief Justice Robert N. Wilentz on Dec. 16, 1994. At the time of his nomination, Justice Coleman was serving as a presiding judge of the Appellate Division of Superior Court.

Justice Coleman began his judicial career in May 1973, when he was appointed a judge of the Union County Court. He served in that capacity until December 1978, when he became a Superior Court judge. In March 1981, he was elevated by Chief Justice Wilentz to the Appellate Division. He was named a presiding judge of the Appellate Division in May 1987.

Justice Coleman was born in Lawrenceville, Va, on May 4, 1933. He graduated in 1952 from James S. Russell High School in Lawrenceville, Va He is a 1956 cum laude graduate of Virginia State University. He received his law degree in 1959 from Howard University School of Law, Washington, D. C., and was admitted to the bar in New Jersey the following year. In 1963, he was admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court.

He served in the U.S. Army Reserve and was discharged in February 1962. Justice Coleman was engaged in the private practice of law from July 1960 until February 1970, with offices in Elizabeth and Roselle. He joined the former New Jersey Department of Labor and Industry in July 1960 as an assistant to the commissioner. During his service with the department, he was an assistant to the director of the Division of Workers' Compensation; consultant to the New Jersey Rehabilitation Commission; counsel for and manager of the New Jersey Subsequent Injury Fund; and referee of formal hearings in the Division of Workers' Compensation.

In July 1964, he was appointed a judge of the New Jersey Workers' Compensation Court and served there until his appointment to the Union County Court. Justice Coleman served on the Supreme Court until he retired on May 3, 2003. He and his wife, Sophia, are the parents of two children.

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